New to the forums and new to burning coal. Been burning and heating our home with wood 100% for over 25 years. Wouldn't have it any other way either. I live in Saugus, MA. If there are other NorthShore residents out there that burn coal I would love to talk to you.

Welcome Dollar. I too am new here. There is a member that I noticed from the north shore. Hopefully he will check in soon. I think if you give coal a try, you will love it. No fear of creosote and it burn hotter and longer than wood. Also, no bug infestations!

I own a 1850s 13+ room farmhouse in Boston (city limits). Complete w/9ft ceilings, little to no insulation, mostly original windows, etc. I’m getting priced out of oil for the forced hot water heating system. First-time ever stove (wood or coal) user. I picked up a 1985 Russo CW#2 stove from a friend for $90. I only needed to replace the door and window gaskets (<$50), a fairly easy task. I also needed to run a 35 foot stainless steel flue down the chimney, (<$500, including T, cap, barometric damper, etc.), also a fairly simple task on a flat roof. The Russo uses Nut coal. I started burning coal 4 weeks ago. The weather is kind of warm for this time of year, but good for learning to operate the stove. Thanks to the forum I’m burning a little less than 40lbs for 24hrs; stove runs for 10-12hrs between fills. The stove is located in the basement. Easily heating the whole area to 70+ degrees when 30-40 degrees outside. It’s really nice to come down barefoot in the morning to warm hardwood floors!! Our 3 year old really notices the difference playing on the floor The whole family is enjoying the radiant, warm house; no more sweaters indoors. Working around in my basement shop (trains) is a lot more enjoyable and comfortable in a T-shirt. This month the upstairs living area is keeping a nice 70+, while burning <10 gallon oil!!! Hobbies include total farmhouse restoration, model trains, year round camping, and burning coal.

Track. That is a great stove! I just replaced my Russo #2 I think. About the very same age as yours. Heated with it every year for the past 20 years. Only upgraded because I moved it into the cellar and it just did not have the output needed to overcome the exposed concrete in the cellar and properly heat the third floor. I was over firing the stove to get all the heat I needed and burned thru the deflector plate twice. I found it easy to operate and would burn wood very well also.

I always felt the Russo design was fantastic. I am shocked that nobody has bought the patents and plans to start building them again. With oil so high, they could sell them in a heart beat.

Hi, thanks for the encouraging input. I rechecked and the manufacture date is actually 1/15/1980! Yup, they built a good stove for sure. It's getting colder now with the nights down into the high 20s to low 30s and days are mostly high 40's. The stove has been running 24/7 for the past 21 days, still using just under 40 lbs/day. It's keeping the floors nice and warm, with the house thermostat set at a constant 70 degrees. When heating with just oil, I found the recovery takes too long when I program a drop at night due to the 1850s farmhouse construction and style. I may fiddle with programming next. So far we’ve used 72 gallons of oil in the past 34 days. This is down from 173 gallons for the same period last year, though it’s been warmer this year. January and February will be the true test! Ciao,KO

Vinmaker wrote:Track. That is a great stove! I just replaced my Russo #2 I think. About the very same age as yours. Heated with it every year for the past 20 years. Only upgraded because I moved it into the cellar and it just did not have the output needed to overcome the exposed concrete in the cellar and properly heat the third floor. I was over firing the stove to get all the heat I needed and burned thru the deflector plate twice. I found it easy to operate and would burn wood very well also.

I always felt the Russo design was fantastic. I am shocked that nobody has bought the patents and plans to start building them again. With oil so high, they could sell them in a heart beat.

I bought my dad 1 of those Russo stoves when oil went through the roof 5 - 6 years ago. He has been heating a good size split-level he lives in Rehoboth Ma, he will not use the blower and only burns wood. The Russo puts out some serious btu's the whole house stays 70+ . My dad is 83 and I supply all his wood. Its alot of work !!! sure wish he would burn coal.

You are a good son keeping your father loaded with firewood! I bet he likes to start the fire and tend to it as well. I know I have enjoyed burning wood since I was a kid but now that I am getting a little older the sheer convenience of coal is what I like. I loaded my coal unit up this morning at 6:30 am and it pumped out 550 degree heat till 3:45 PM this afternoon.